Canada and Ireland

Book excerpt: Canadians have been involved in, intrigued by, and frustrated with Irish politics, from the Fenian Raids of the 1860s to the present day. Yet, until now, scholarly interest in Canada’s relationship with Ireland has focused largely on the years leading to the consolidation of the Irish Free State in the 1920s. Relying on extensive archival research, Canada and Ireland authoritatively assesses political relations between the two countries, from partition to the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998. It reveals how domestic controversies and international concerns have moulded Ottawa’s response to developments such as Ireland’s neutrality in the Second World War, its unsettled relationship with the Commonwealth, and the always contentious issue of Irish unification. In Canada and Ireland, Philip J. Currie painstakingly investigates the origins, trials, and successes of the sometimes turbulent connection between the two countries to shed new light on an important relationship.